Normal myocardial perfusion SPECT database for the Spanish population

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Nuclear Medicine
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Myocardial perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is crucial for diagnosing coronary artery disease.
• Standardized normal databases are essential for accurate semiquantitative analysis of SPECT data.
• Existing normal databases may not fully represent diverse populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish a normal Spanish database for myocardial perfusion SPECT.
• To compare the Spanish normal database with a North American database.
• To identify potential demographic or regional differences in myocardial perfusion.

Main Methods:

• 104 healthy Spanish volunteers underwent stress and rest myocardial perfusion SPECT.
• Data were analyzed using 4DM-SPECT software.
• The Spanish database was compared to a North American database within the software.

Main Results:

• The Spanish database revealed distinct patterns of myocardial uptake, with highest uptake in the medial-lateral region and lowest in the basal-septal region.
• Significant sex-based differences in regional uptake were observed within the Spanish population.
• The Spanish database generally showed lower data values across most heart regions compared to the North American database.

Conclusions:

• A sex-specific normal myocardial perfusion SPECT database for the Spanish population was successfully created.
• Significant discrepancies exist between the Spanish and North American databases, particularly in semiquantitative values.
• These findings underscore the importance of population-specific normal data for accurate SPECT interpretation.